


Caramel Macchiato, Extra Cream

by LostSpaceship



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: "Fuck you Lance"-Keith probably, 'Loverboy Lance', Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Attempt at Humor, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cheesy pickup lines I found on the internet, Christmas Fluff, Crushes, Developing Relationship, English major!Keith, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Flirt!Lance, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), I apologise, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith gets no work done, Keith has a panic attack, Lol I failed, M/M, Mistletoe, OOC? probably., Pansexual Hunk (Voltron), Rated teen for swearing, Science major!Lance, This has been in my drafts for ages, Tis' the most wonderful time of the year, briefly, i'm a mess, this is a mess, writer!keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 15:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12684777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostSpaceship/pseuds/LostSpaceship
Summary: "The bell rang, and a person clad in a blue bomber jacket stumbled through the door from the wind and rain that Keith hadn't even noticed had gotten worse."Or Keith is distracted by a guy in a blue bomber jacket and gets nothing done. Feelings, fluff and angst follow.





	Caramel Macchiato, Extra Cream

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Coffee Shops During Christmas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7627468) by [heartofthejunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofthejunk/pseuds/heartofthejunk). 



> Another work in another fandom, good times. This has been sitting in my drafts for so long and with Christmas in a month, I figured it was a good time to post it. 
> 
> This was inspired by heartofthejunk (royalkeith)'s amazing fanfic. If you read this, I'd recommend you also check out theirs. 
> 
> If you spot any mistakes let me know!
> 
>  
> 
> **Trigger Warning: Keith has a panic attack. It starts where TW appears in the story.**

The strong aroma of coffee and sugar assaulted Keith's senses as he walked through the glass doors to the local coffee shop, The Altean Café. It wasn't very big; brown panelling on the outside with a red and white striped canopy hanging over the door. There were two large windows to the right of the door, underneath potted flowers and decorative rocks lined the ground. It was home-like, cosy. 

Inside was nice too, cream walls and dark laminated floorboards. The counter was a dark brown with a glass case to the left filled with treats and scones to eat alongside the hot drinks. There were about fifteen square tables dotted around, each adorned with a table-cloth and different flowers. From the ceiling hung lights that gave a yellowish glow, surrounded by small chandelier-type covers.

It was beautiful.

It was the middle of August and raining outside, the interior and exterior designing would make anyone want to come and sit in out of the harsh weather. A small golden bell above the door rung to alert the staff someone had entered. The sudden warmth that wrapped around Keith like a blanket was a relief from the pouring rain outside.

Keith pulled his hood and scarf down before shaking a chunk of hair that had gotten wet from his eyes.

“Keith! Good morning!” Hunk -the person manning the till- waved him over. It was early in the morning and there wasn't much of a queue, only two people were in front of him. He stood behind them; the benefits of coming before he was supposed to be in class, he supposed.

Keith and Hunk knew each other pretty well. Without him knowing, Keith had fallen into the habit of visiting the small café most days of the week; he arrived, ordered his coffee, sat in the same table and completed any coursework, finished his coffee and left. In short, while he had visited the café, Hunk had spoken to Keith a bit and had managed to remember his order. 

After that they had become friends, Hunk was easy to get along with so it wasn't too much of an effort to make some interaction. He was also introduced to Pidge. On most days, Pidge would prepare the coffee and Hunk would man the till. Pidge was likewise easy to get along with and he soon found himself talking to both of them.

Keith had surprised himself though, he never spoke to anyone. Ever. Humans generally annoyed him. Well, whatever, coffee in the morning changes people. The queue moved forward until it was time for Keith to order, “Could I have a-“, Hunk interrupted him, “A caramel macchiato, right? Extra cream?” A small smile tugged at Keith's lips. “You know it.”

Pidge came out of the back and smiled at Keith, “Morning.” Keith nodded in response. She turned around and got busy making Keith's order. Hunk turned to Keith again, “It's going to start getting busy, I can see it,” he started. “It always does at this time of year, it gets colder and people want somewhere warm to sit.” He sighed.

Hunk and Pidge were around the same age as Keith, they all went to the same university, they had discovered. Hunk and Pidge were science majors while Keith was an English major. They were on opposite sides of the building so they hadn't known. The two worked at the small café from seven to nine and travelled to the nearby building for classes from quarter to ten. The busier it got in winter the harder they had to work to serve the people travelling to schools and work. It must have been tiring.

“I'm sure we'll survive, Hunk,” Pidge said from in front of the coffee machine. “Yes, but barely! It makes me lazy in the morning,” He grumbled.

Keith didn't need to see the eye roll Pidge just did, “Well, boo hoo princess” Pidge started, “you signed up for it.” Hunk’s face was a picture, true betrayal, “You're best friend status has been revoked.” He huffed as Pidge and Keith laughed.

Pidge pushed the freshly made coffee towards Keith as he paid Hunk and made his way over to his typical seat. It was bang in between two pillars and rested against the large window. He liked being able to look out on the streets and see everyone walking past, especially at this time of year when it would rain and there would be coats and umbrellas everywhere.

He sat down in the comfortable chair and pulled out his laptop and books before loading up his recent work. He was supposed to be writing a novel of sorts. Any genre. The class worked on it throughout the year and handed it in at the end; it was worth half their marks. He took a sip of coffee, rubbed his eyes and began to type. The quiet buzz of the few people who now occupied the café helped him focus. It was peaceful. Keith stopped typing for a few minutes to think about what to write next, he sipped his macchiato and looked around the café. 

The bell rang, and a person clad in a blue bomber jacket stumbled through the door from the wind and rain that Keith hadn't even noticed had gotten worse. He coughed and pulled his hood down and sauntered over to the till. 

Keith lost interest in the said person and turned to look out of the window. The patter of the rain lulled him into an awake-asleep state. He had been dragged rudely from it when he heard obnoxious giggling coming from in front of him. He looked up and spotted the person in the blue jacket; a boy around 18-similar to Keith's age of 19- he had golden tanned skin, he realised and brown hair that curved upwards at the tips.

He was standing next to a blonde girl with large blue eyes. “Are you an interior decorator? Because when I saw you, the entire room became beautiful.” 

What. The. _Fuck_. Keith physically cringed, that was the worst pick up line he'd ever heard. The girl seemed to think otherwise as she giggled again and twirled her hair. That was remarkably terrible.

Keith shook his head and shifted to look at the time. There was a small round clock above the counter that read 8:30. Time to go, his classes started in thirty minutes. He put away his laptop and picked up the rest of his coffee, the café was starting to get busier now. He nodded at Hunk and Pidge as he left as he pushed open the doors. Just as he was leaving he looked over at the blue-jacket-guy one last time.

\---

Keith didn't think that he'd see said blue-jacket-guy again, he hadn't seen him before in the few weeks he'd been coming to the cafe, so he couldn't have been a regular. He had been proven otherwise when the next day he arrived for his coffee, sat down at his regular table and got out his laptop and books again to begin typing.

Keith had only been working for ten minutes when blue-jacket-guy waltzed through the door again.

Keith watched him as he ordered his coffee before turning back to his work. He was working peacefully. Was _another_ girl two tables across from where he sat.

He sat down in front of her and smiled, “Hey there, pretty lady,” Keith looked up and watched the exchange with a look of distaste plastered over his face. "Did your license get suspended for driving all the guys crazy?” He finished with a smirk as the girl turned red and giggled.

Keith couldn't help but to think to himself ‘Are you serious right now?!’ He truly pitied the girls that got harassed by that lunatic, he seriously needed to find better pick up lines than those. Keith wondered just how many girls he'd actually gotten from using those monstrosities. Where did he find them?

Keith rolled his eyes and looked around the café. Sure enough, as Hunk had predicted, with the rain and high winds, there were a couple more people in the seats. It had only been a day. He'd have to make sure that he got there early each day, as to get his table. 

He worked again for a while but the laughter of the occupants two tables across was distracting him. Usually, a little noise would help him concentrate. Not this time. Keith cursed softly under his breath and shut his laptop off, he still had twenty minutes before he had to leave for class. 

'Might as well go talk to Hunk and Pidge'. With that thought, he put his coursework away, shouldered his bag and made his way over to the relatively quiet queue. Although it was busier, it wasn't the busiest. He'd only be there for a bit anyway, he wouldn't interrupt that much.

Keith decided to wait till the queue dispersed a bit more. The last person to get served took their coffee, a short girl with short red hair and green eyes, gave him a small smirk and wink as she walked past. It was a lost cause, Keith swung the other way, she didn't have the right…anatomy for his liking.

Hunk fake-smiled as she left and then slumped against the counter. “I am _dreading_ the winter comers,” he moaned, his head dropping to lay on his now folded arms. “I’m going to collapse!” 

Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose and laughed. “I don't think so, Hunk.” He turned and glared at her small form, “I might…” He mumbled trailing off. Keith smiled at their exchange. 

A thought occurred to Keith. “Hey, do you guys know who that is?” He pointed behind him with his thumb directing it to the blue-jacket-guy. Hunk stuck his bottom lip out slightly and raised to the tips of his toes to see over the counter. He spotted him and dropped back down. 

“Yup,” he said popping the ‘p’ “He's also a science major,” he motioned between him and Pidge, “He's in our classes, so we've spoken to him a few times.” Keith nodded and hummed.

“He seems annoying.” He winced as a particularly loud laugh came from their table, slicing through the relatively quiet café. He motioned with his hands as though to say ‘do you see my point?’ “Yeah, he's not too bad the times we’ve spoken to him." He shrugged nonchalantly, "He's actually pretty funny." Keith nearly scoffed. Hardly believable.

Hunk suddenly cracked a large grin and let out a chuckle, "Although, he flirts with anything that moves."

Pidge snorted from behind and came forwards so they were leaning against the counter too, apparently having caught Hunk's drift. “Or not. Do you not remember the time at the frat party?” She laughed to herself before continuing, “One of the guys claimed that he was flirting with a _pillar_ , he was wasted. He never lived that down for ages after. No shock there.” 

Hunk was laughing so hard he had to hold the wall for support, it even managed to get a soft laugh out of Keith. Hunk wiped his eyes, “It doesn't surprise me, to be honest.” 

Keith smiled, it dropped soon after though to a slight rise of the sides of his mouth, the typical Keith smile. The bell jingled, through the door in walked two guys and a girl. 

“Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'll see you guys later.” He turned and made his way to the door. As he walked his eyebrows furrowed and a frown caressed his lips. 

Keith might have been imagining it, but Keith couldn't brush off the feeling that someone was staring at his back. The niggling feeling left almost as soon as it came as Keith realised something. He hadn't got the guy's name. 

_Fuck._

\--- 

It continued like that all the way into September. Three weeks. Blue-jacket-guy came to the café most days of the week, he was a regular now. Each and every time he came, he'd hover in front of another girl, hit them with a sad excuse for a pickup line then just sit at their table as if he belonged there. 

Keith would deny it to everyone, but he always found himself more perked up when blue-jacket-guy entered the café, especially when he hit out with his pickup line of the day. Just a bit. It wasn't as if he had a reason. He didn't even know the guy's name! Honestly, he was beginning to wonder why he cared so much. 

Today wasn't any different, the café was officially packed with the winter comers, and yet Keith still made sure that he got his table. He'd sat there since he had started visiting the small cafe, he'd sit there until he stopped. The tables all around were full, some strangers sitting across from each other. Better than having to walk through the winter weather, though. 

As usual, after twenty minutes or so, the blue-jacket-guy walked through the café doors, the bell clinking as a welcoming of his presence. 

Keith didn't pay him too much mind- something he’d been improving on- too focused on his work, his fingers quickly skimming his keyboard as words appeared on the screen. He did look up when however when he heard a “Hey, sweet cheeks,” come from the furthest away corner. Definitely blue-jacket-guy. 

It was different this time, Keith looked up as he took a sip of hot coffee. He soon regretted it when the boiling liquid shot down his throat the wrong way, his hand spasmed in shock as the coffee inside his cup sloshed causing it to spill in his lap. He balled his fist and thumped his chest as he coughed and at the same time tried to fan his burning tongue and lap. His good fucking jeans were covered brown coffee stains now. 

Once he finished almost-dying-but-not-really, he composed himself and wiped the spilt coffee with his sleeve. He took a steadying breath and looked over at blue-jacket-guy again. 

He blinked. Blinked again. Blinked a third time. It couldn't be real. Could it? By this point, Keith knew his eyes weren't deceiving him. Blue-jacket-guy, the ‘womaniser’, the bad flirt, the ladies man, was sitting in front of a very much male person. Maybe Keith _had_ died from choking on his coffee and it was all just an illusion. A hallucination. 

He wasn't against it, hell, he was gay himself! It was just… unexpected. For some reason, he couldn't concentrate on his work or surroundings. He even missed the ‘pickup line’, if you could call them that, blue-jacket-guy was sure to have said to the admittedly good-looking man, green eyes, dark hair, freckles... 

Keith took a breath in through his nose and tried to write some more but after rewriting and reading the same paragraph four times, he gave up. He left twenty-five minutes before he had to leave for class, a coffee cup in hand and a confused expression on his face. And, for the record, no, he most certainly did not stumble and almost fall on his face on the way out the door trying to steal one last glance at the jacket-clad man. Definitely not. 

(He totally did.) 

\--- 

Keith peered at his laptop screen. He had done nothing. At. All. He was too busy glaring at blue-jacket-guy and hoping he might spontaneously burst into flames from the heat of his glare. Thoughts of blue-jacket-guy talking to a male plagued his mind all night. He still couldn't believe it, but that wasn't why he was glaring at the said man. 

No, it was because he couldn't fucking sleep. The thoughts were bloody loud. Now he was frustrated. Why, in the name of all that is holy, is Keith unable to sleep because a man he hasn't ever even spoken to, flirted with a man? Why? He sighed and rubbed at his sore eyes with the heel of his hands; dark circles had taken up residence beneath his eyelids and they were very much _un_ welcome. 

Keith turned back to his laptop to try to write and take his mind off everything, but anything he attempted to write ended up jumbled. He was certain he was going to fall asleep. This was happening far too often for his liking. Fucking blue jackets and dumbass flirts. He slammed the top of his laptop shut startling the woman in front of him, almost causing her to spill her coffee. She looked over, eyes squinted in anger. Keith gave her a sheepish smile, and at the same time shoved everything into his school bag. He shouldered the heavy bag and walked over to the counter to order another coffee. 

Keith put his head in his hands while he waited on someone coming to the till and take his order. Although the place was busy, the queue wasn’t. In fact, no one was in the queue at all. Everyone had been served. 

“Woah! What happened to you? You look like shit.”, Keith snapped his head up and glared at Pidge. “Thanks, Fuck you Pidge. 'S up all night,” he mumbled. He leaned his head to the right to rest his head against the wall. 

Pidge looked interested now, “Oh? And why was that?" She raised an eyebrow and leaned forward closer to Keith. “Um…,” It wasn't that he didn't trust Pidge or anything, definitely not. It was just, he hasn't ever really had anyone to talk about this stuff too, apart from his very close friend Shiro. He just wasn't used to it. 

At that moment Hunk walked through the door carrying a tray of baked goods. “Morning!” he stopped and took a double take. “You look terrible, are you okay?” Hunk furrowed his brows, a look of concern on his face. “That's what I said,” Pidge grumbled under her breath. 

“Yes, I'm aware of that,” Keith rubbed his eyes again and leaned on the counter. “He was just about to tell me why, weren't you, Keith.” Pidge wore a smirk. It wasn’t a question. 

“It's- It’s nothing important,” he cursed that stutter. Damn it to hell. “Sure it is! Come on, spill the beans.” Hunk was putting the goods away but Keith could tell he was listening. 

“It's just that guy. Something happened yesterday. That's it.” Pidge broke into a grin. and leaned forward on her hands. Her eyes held a menacing glint and she looked far too excited about this. 

“Wait, you mean the guy with the blue jacket?” Hunk asked over his shoulder as he stuck some cakes on the top shelf. Keith mumbled a quiet 'yeah'. He didn't expect them to laugh but apparently whatever he said was hilarious. 

Hunk turned around, finished stocking the shelves. “Why? What about him?” He cocked an eyebrow, they metal tray hanging from his fingers. Keith turned red, he wasn't entirely sure why or what had made him lose valuable sleep time. He was wary but figured he could trust the pair. 

He took a breath and spoke, “He usually flirts with people, right?” Hunk and Pidge nodded in unison, Pidge’s laughing fit finally over. “Well, yesterday, instead of a girl it was a guy. I guess I was just confused or something. I thought he was straight.” Keith must have missed a memo somewhere that stated he was a fucking comedian because now Pidge and Hunk were laughing their asses off. Again! Honestly. This is why he didn't ever socialise. 

Pidge looked as though she was going to die of asphyxiation. “What's so funny?!” Keith looked from one to the other between the two. Pidge calmed herself, looked at Keith and then almost fell over laughing again. Keith sighed. 

Hunk wiped a real tear away from his eye. “That was priceless. I wish I'd videoed it,” He took a breath as he waited for Pidge to calm down. Pidge took a deep breath and cleared their throat. “Ahem, okay Hunk, you can tell him,” a smile still on their face, the little shit. 

Keith looked at Hunk expectantly. With the most serious expression on his face he spoke, “That boy is a flaming bisexual. It's a known fact.” 

Keith's eyes almost fell from their sockets. “What?!" That wasn't expected either. Pidge spoke next, “Yeah, remember we told you he flirted with anything? We weren't joking. Women and men alike.” 

Keith was about ready to fall over. Again the question ‘why?’ floated around his head, banging off the walls. Honestly. He had to calm himself. It wasn't like he was interested in him. The guy wasn't even nice; he flirted with anything according to his friends. Surely he was only into one night stands anyways. That would only matter if he was interested. Which he wasn't. 

“Oh, god.” Keith groaned. He dropped his head on the table. He presumed it was Pidge’s hand that patronizingly patted his head and muttered “There, there,” amusement oozing from the two words. 

“Hey, dude, you having, like, a gay crisis over there?” Hunk spoke hesitantly. It sounded like a joke, but Keith could sense an underlying seriousness to his words. Keith flew back, almost crashing into a table in the process, he turned flaming red. “WHAT?!” He truly didn't care if he was shrieking in the middle of a busy place. 

Okay, so he did. His eyes skimmed the room of several people, some of which giving him odd looks, blue-jacket-guy among them. He hadn't even realised he had entered. 'That's a first,' his brain supplied. His blush intensified. 

“Why would I be?!" He hissed lowly, "That guy is clearly a fuckboy.” The pair didn't know Keith was gay. He didn't like talking about that kind of stuff, never had. He'd been bullied and abused for that before. He'd rather let it slide. 

Pidge and Hunk shared a look, something Keith couldn't decipher. “Okay, whatever you say,” Hunk shrugged, a ‘you didn’t deny it’ hanging unsaid in the air. Keith looked at the clock, he had ten minutes to make a twenty-minute walk to campu>s. He gasped and grabbed his bag strap, “I have to go, I'm going to be late! Bye!” He turned on his heel and dashed out the door.  
He hadn't even picked up his coffee. 

As his feet pounded the wet ground, puddles splashing up his ankles, something came to his awareness. 

He _still_ didn't know what fucking blue-jacket-guy’s name was. 

\--- 

That's how it went until the last week of October. Keith would get distracted by blue-jacket-guy's annoying flirting and terrible pickup lines as he got his morning fix of coffee, the said man would be oblivious and the small coffee shop maintained it's bursting capacity. 

Keith was expecting it to go just as it usually did as he walked through the door to the coffee shop. He was, however, wrong. As he walked through the door the first thing he noticed was how long the queue was that morning. It was the busiest it had been the whole of winter. The next was that all but two tables were full, people who seemed to not know each other sitting next to or across from each other, completely ignoring the other person as it had been for the past few days. Today was much worse with three or more strangers sitting together. 

A sense of alarm spiked through Keith as he looked over to where “his table” was. The panic dissipated as he saw the table empty, a small smile spread on his face - simply a lift of the corners of his mouth. He briefly spoke to Hunk as he took his order and laughed as the man's face turned pale at the sight of even more people flooding through the door. He reached for his freshly made caramel macchiato (extra cream) and left with a short “See you” directed at both Hunk and Pidge. 

Keith made his way over to the window to take his normal seat. No sooner had he sat himself down and got his classwork out of his bag, someone had sat in front of him. 

Slightly agitated, Keith raised his eyes to his still waking up the laptop. The sight before him almost made him choke on air. 

_There, right in front of him, was blue-jacket-guy._

The boy gave a small smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Do you mind if I sit here?” Keith swallowed. No, he didn't mind. Well, that's what he wanted to say. Instead, his stupid mouth moved on its own accord and said: “Can't you sit somewhere else?” 

Keith had almost ruined his chance to find out more about the guy, maybe where in God's name he found the horrendous pickup lines. Or maybe his name so he didn't have to refer to him as “The blue-jacket-guy”,- that would be nice. 

He felt kind of bad, he really did, as the guy's eyes widened a little and his smile fell slightly. “I can't, everywhere is taken.” Sure enough, when Keith looked around, every table was taken. Every seat too. 

“Oh, um,” Keith started,”I guess then…” He mumbled into his laptop screen. Keith looked down at the keys his fingers were still resting against, his mind now completely void of what he was just about to type. A few moments of silence passed, Keith was trying to think of something to say but when his mind turned up blank, he just decided to wait. Soon enough, the silence was broken. 

“What are you writing?” Keith looked up and jumped back slightly after seeing that the blue-jacket-guy was leaning over his computer and trying to read what was appearing on the screen. Suddenly his eyes flicked up and looked into the boy's own; dark blue irises seeming to swirl like the ocean. 

“Um…” 

‘Oh yeah,’ he thought, ‘I really hate talking to people.’ His awkward self stuttered mentally. “It's, ah, a piece for my university…” The guy nodded, “What’s it about?” 

Keith swallowed and flushed slightly, “It’s my own story, about two people who fall in love accidentally. It's kinda forbidden.” Surprisingly the guy looked interested, a small smile formed on Keith's face, no one usually ever cared about his work. 

“How's it going?” Keith was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. What was this, some kind of interrogation? 

“It’s going good, I suppose.” As much as he appreciated the guy's interest, what he said next annoyed Keith more than he'd like to admit; “Can I read it?” 

Keith never let anyone read his work, not even Hunk or Pidge. It was private, his own. He liked to write and tended to blend in his own feelings, as cheesy as it sounds. Writing was a sort of safe haven for him, sometimes he did it just for fun if he was bored or stressed, sometimes sad. That's why he snapped like he did. “No!” At the look on the guys face Keith took it back, “I-I mean, no, you can't, it’s, uh, not finished yet.” 

The guy pulled back slightly, the look of surprise falling off of his face slightly, he seemed to understand that he'd struck a nerve and dropped the subject. “Yeah, yeah, sorry for asking.” Keith simply nodded in response and tried to write again. “Hey, do you come here often? I, uh, think I've seen you around a few times.” 

Keith glanced up, “Yeah, almost every morning.” Small talk. He hated it, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly awkward. This was odd. Normally the person would be confident and cocky, but now he looked shifty, awkward. 

They lapsed into another silence after that. He could hear rustling from the man but decided to try and keep focusing on his work. Keith got halfway through a paragraph when he heard the guy clear his throat. He stared at him as though urging him to say whatever it was. 

The guy quickly glanced down before looking up with a smile, his eyes bright, and said, “Do you like raisins? How about a date?” 'Oh, there it is'. 

It took a while for Keith to register what exactly had just been said, and then he was trying so hard not to burst out laughing (He really didn't try that hard.) He brought a hand up to his mouth and snorted. He _snorted_. Then that was that. It was like a dam had been opened and Keith was laughing like a maniac. It wasn't even just the terrible pickup line, but the guy's expression when he saw Keith trying not to laugh had just sent him toppling over the edge. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes as the guy's expression became confused, the smile he wore turned into a slight frown. 

“What's so funny about that?” The fact the guy was genuinely confused made it even better. Keith desperately tried to calm himself down. He took steadying breaths and tried to compose himself. 

“I-I'm sorry, that was priceless.” The guy looked affronted. “It's worked before…” At the gaze Keith was giving him he looked away and mumbled, “Ok, Maybe it didn't but it was close.” 

Keith nodded, “Uh-huh.” 

The guy looked back and Keith tried to hide his smile. “Where do you find those? They're so terrible it's pitiful, I almost feel bad for you.” Blue-jacket-guy looked at the table, forlornly. “The Internet, none of them have been any good.” 

Keith snorted again, “I wonder why…” 

Blue-jacket-man looked incredulous, “You were almost swooning there!” Keith nodded, “Whatever you say…” 

It was quiet after that for the most part; the only sounds being the irregular taps of Keith’s keyboard keys and the occasional loud gulp from blue-jacket-guy as he sipped his drink. A thought had nagged at the back of his head since the man had sat in front of him. Was this a good time to ask his name? No, if he did that he'd seem like he was interested, which he wasn't. The guy would probably assume his horrific pickup line had brainwashed Keith into wanting to take him up on his (fake?) offer. It hadn't. Instead, he discreetly tried to look at the coffee cup which had a name scribbled on the side, if only he'd turn his cup a little more… 

“Hey, what're you looking at?” His attention snapped to the guys face. “Um, the type of cup you have?” The end flicked up into a question against Keith's will. 

“It's the exact same as yours…” 

It seemed as though cogs were turning in his mind until a light bulb lit up above his head, a small smirk slipping onto his face. “Were you trying to look at my name?” Keith cursed his pale skin for allowing a pale pink to adorn his cheeks. 

“No!” He sputtered, the guy nodded slowly and smiled, “My name’s Lance but some people like to call me 'Loverboy Lance'. He finished his sentence with a wink as he leaned forwards on his forearm, "What's yours?” 

Keith tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach and rolled his eyes, "'Loverboy Lance'? That's stupid," Lance looked like he was about to say something else, his mouth hanging open and his brows furrowed but Keith continued on talking, "My name's Keith." 

Lance's mouth snapped shut. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "'Loverboy Lance' is _not_ stupid. Your dumb mullet is stupid." 

Keith nearly punched him in the face, "My mullet is fucking great!" Lance rolled his eyes, "Of course."

Keith was only there for a few minutes more, the clock was ticking away and he had to leave if he wanted it to make it to class time. He said a quick goodbye to Lance before heading for the door. Despite the somewhat odd conversation Keith opened his mouth as he walked, "Lance."

He smiled.

\---

Keith had started a friendship- Or rather he assumed he had. Lance (Keith was still giddy to know his name after all this time) would usually appear a few minutes after Keith had sat down, and would come and talk. 

Keith had been noticing the amount of work he'd been producing was becoming less and less. He'd also noticed that one of his new characters had tanned skin and ocean blue eyes, scarily similar to Lance’s when Keith pictured them in his mind.

He hoped it was a friendship. If it wasn't, Keith might just cry. He had become slightly attached to walking into the cafe and expecting Lance to come around the corner any minute later.

Something occurred to him on their daily morning routine. Over the past week or two, Lance hadn't said a word to any of the other people in the small cafe. Instead, he'd been frequenting Keith's table.

"Hey, what happened to Loverboy Lance?" The nickname rolling off of Keith's tongue sarcastically. Surprisingly, Lance turned pink.

"Well, I actually- um- I think there's someone I like more than the rest of the people here..." He trailed off at the end and rubbed his neck. Keith ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach, the sudden and surprising sadness and disappointment.

"Wow, well uh- good luck with her." Keith was sure he could hear Lance mumble a quiet 'Yeah... _her_ ' as he sipped his coffee. Maybe he was just tired. He should probably go to bed earlier if he was starting to hear things.

Weird.

\---

Keith was having a very bad morning. 

His alarm went off twenty minutes late, he'd missed his bus, it had started raining, he dropped his bag and had to pick up soggy papers; not to mention he had no fucking umbrella. He honestly felt like throwing himself in front of the next car.

Keith glanced at his watch as he tried to speed walk down the pavement. If he hurried he could quickly sit for five minutes with a coffee. He was already late, an extra few minutes wouldn't kill him.

When Keith burst through the café doors he wasn't expecting his table to be taken. He also didn't expect Lance to be, what he guessed, waiting for him. He definitely didn't expect a coffee to be sitting in front of where he would usually sit.

At the sound of the bell chime, Lance turned around. When his eyes saw Keith he seemed to brighten up a tad.

“Keith! I saved a seat for you, Mullet."

A surge of gratefulness flowed through Keith as he made his way to the table. Lance had given the nickname after saying that it was unfair Keith could call Lance whatever he wanted, but Lance couldn't do the same. At first, Keith was annoyed by it but, after some time, he just gave up and went with it. He threw his bag down and sat in the comfy seat. The coffee cup in front intrigued him, Lance's name scrawled in Hunk’s writing. ‘What did he get?’

“Um, Lance?” Keith questioned, at the rise of Lance's head he continued. “What did you get for me?” Lance smiled, was that a dust of pink on his cheeks? “A caramel macchiato, extra cream.”  
Keith's eyes widened slightly and a gentle smile curved the sides of his mouth. 

“You memorised my order…” He mumbled quietly, trailing off at the end. It was only fair to ask what Lance’s typical order was. The answer he got shouldn't have surprised him; Lance didn't like coffee. Instead, he got a strawberry frappé with whipped cream and no coffee. He also got it put in one of the hot drink cups to seem like he could stand coffee in front of other people, he didn't want to seem ‘weak’ or something. Keith had only laughed.

It was as Keith was taking another sip of the hot liquid that he realised, he had class. Five minutes ago.

“Oh, shit!” He reached out to grab his coffee and almost spilt it at the same time. “I'm really sorry, Lance, but I've got to go, I'm really late.” He explained as he tried to sling his bag over his shoulder. “I'll see you tomorrow?” Keith asked before he left. Lance smiled.

“Of course.”

\---

It had been around a month and a half since Keith had begun talking to Lance, and he was happy with the small relationship he had with Lance. He could confirm now that yes, they _were_ friends. It was nice having someone other than Hunk and Pidge to talk to. They'd got to know each other better now, trivial things included, like their favourite food and colours, or the kind of pets they wanted in the future. (Lance liked his mum's omelettes, his favourite colour was violet, a weird colour to like in Keith's opinion and he wanted a cat named Whiska.)

Keith found he wanted to spend more and more time with Lance, it felt comforting when he was with him as cheesy as it sounds. He felt warm. That's how they had ended up in Keith's bedroom in his flat a short walk away, playing Mario Kart and screaming at the screen as Lance was red-shelled by Keith. It had then become a small tradition to spend time together after their classes, even if it _was_ only playing Mario Kart together. 

Lance had laughed a different laugh than before as Keith drove off the road by accident. It was much more relaxed than any he'd heard previously. The sound sent tingles down Keith's neck and spine, a warmth pooling in his stomach and a blush adorning his cheeks as he crashed for the umpteenth time during the round. He'd never felt something like that before. He hoped it would never happen again, who knows what that feeling meant?

The repeated failure of Keith's playing skills got ridiculous eventually, and they decided to stop to order a Chinese for dinner and watch a new horror movie Lance had been dying to see.

For the whole duration of the movie, Keith felt tense. Lance was so close and he smelt so nice. His stomach twisted. Unknowingly, he scooted ever-so-slightly closer to Lance. Keith's eyes began to feel heavy and in his almost-asleep state, he swore he heard Lance whisper 'Sweet dreams' as he brushed Keith's fringe away as the light from the TV screen lit up Lance's face.

Keith hoped he hadn't been imagining anything. The feeling was foreign but nice. He decided that maybe wishing to never feel something again was a bit too far. After all, this time he found himself enjoying it.

\---

Keith was well and truly fucked.

A thought at 2:36 a.m. a few days later had made him shoot out of bed and knock over a lamp. Over the last few days, he'd been having dreams of Lance. Not dreams you typically have about your platonic friends. No, dreams that made him wake up sticky with soiled underwear and a pounding heart. Ones that made him turned on to no end.

Keith, the oblivious idiot he was, had thought it was a just phase of sexual attraction, it happened a lot to him; a healthy young person. It was normal. It was when the dreams turned into something more he started to wonder if he'd stepped over the simple ‘attraction’ phase. The dreams were intimate in a different way. Sleeping next to each other, gentle morning kisses, hand holding, Lance’s smile, Lance’s eyes, Lance’s laugh, Lance. Romantic and gushy dreams that filled his stomach with butterflies when he thought about them.

Not only that but he'd been thinking way too much about Lance for it to be normal. Everything he did was amazing in Keith's eyes.

It was this realisation that everything became clear, the dreams, the thoughts, the heat that spread through his stomach when Lance did anything somewhat cute, the small flutters of his heart. Keith gulped in air as he lay back down in bed from the sudden waking up. He dragged his hands down his face and screamed into his hands, the sound muffled.

He might have a little bit of a crush on Lance.

Keith's realization had made him a lot more awkward and shy around Lance; now he often stuttered or stared at him and it was beginning to become a habit. Keith was positive that any minute now, he'd get caught. It was a risk he was willing to take to stare at the perfection in front of him. It didn't stop the niggling feeling in the back of his mind screaming at him to stop.

Lance was going to be late that day, he'd told Keith the day prior. So Keith took it upon himself to order for both of them and catch up with Hunk. When it was his turn to order, Hunk just stared at him. A sudden feeling of unease spread over him. Had he done something wrong? A frown adorned Keith's face as he looked back at Hunk.

“What?” He hated the squeak he'd made as he tried to stop the warmth creeping up his neck. Hunk raised an eyebrow before standing up straight. He'd originally been slumped on the counter. He raised a finger and pointed it at Keith accusingly, “You like Lance.” He said simply.

Keith thought he was going to fall over from the shock that thrummed through his body. “What?!” 

Pidge smirked as her head suddenly popped around from the back storage room. “Don't even try to deny it.” Keith wished the ground would just swallow him whole and just be done with it.

“I-I'm not, I mean- I don't, I- what?” At his stuttered incoherent sentence, Hunk just smiled and crossed his arms. “You know… this pretty much just confirms it.” To make matters worse, Pidge, who Keith hadn't even noticed was making his coffee already, turned around to look at him. 

“Hunk’s right you know, you're not exactly subtle.” Keith was mentally writing his will, and these two were getting shit. He was pretty sure he might die of embarrassment.

“After class, meet us at the park, you know, the one only a few minutes away from campus?” It was Hunk talking again. “We need a catch-up.”

Keith didn't believe it was just a ‘catch up’. No, this was going to be an investigation. About Lance. Oh shit. “I- um, sure. Of course.” Pidge pushed his drink over towards him. One cup. “Actually, I need another drink- a strawberry frappé,” Her eyes widened and she raised an eyebrow. She put her hand on her hip and stared at Keith incredulously, “with cream and no coffee.” Keith added on at the end, his voice trailing away under the intense stare.

Keith didn't like the look Pidge and Hunk gave each other. Without another word, Pidge left to make the second drink for Keith. He only just caught Hunk’s quiet mumbling of “unbelievable.”

Keith didn't think he could move as fast as he did when the drink was in front of him- he picked the two drinks up and speed walked away. He couldn't deal with any more questions. When Keith was sitting at his – their - usual table nerves began to kick in. He wrung his hands in his lap and nibbled on his lip. Did Hunk and Pidge hate him? How had they found out? He was trying to be liked not hated… Keith couldn't see any work being done that day either.

A jingling from the door made him look up. Lance was just walking through the door. He caught sight of Keith and waved his hand, a smile erupting in his features. All of a sudden, Keith's mind became quiet and he dropped his lip from between his teeth. The suddenly not-so-welcome feeling of warmth spread through him.

“Hi.”

\---

Keith thought he was going to be sick as he walked to the park. It was starting to get dark now, after all, it was winter now. In fact, it was Christmas in four weeks time. That just brought on a whole extra bucket load of nerves and anxiety. He hated Christmas with a passion. Maybe because he never had anyone to spend it with. He was going to have to get something for Hunk and Pidge.

Keith had been thinking about getting Pidge a mini-drone he'd saw in a geek shop in town. He was positive that was a good idea, after all, Pidge lived and breathed for anything electronic or science related. For hunk, maybe a baking set. Keith had found out about his hobby of stress baking. He'd also found out that after a surge of stress baking, many spoons and pots were broken. Keith hadn't pushed the subject to find out exactly how they had been broken. Maybe he wouldn't have to get anything at all. Not if this conversation went badly.

Keith hadn't realised that he'd made it to the park. He looked over the small gate and saw two figures sitting on the swings. Pidge and Hunk. Keith swallowed his nerves and pushed open the gate open and hesitantly made his way over to the pair. They seemed to be having a quiet conversation among themselves.

“Um… hi.” ‘Shit that was so lame!’ Hunk turned his head and looked at Keith then broke out into a smile. “You came!” Pidge turned around too and motioned for the spare swing next to them.

Keith, a bit shaky in the knees, sat down. He was hoping, praying, that if he somehow did come clean about his feelings for Lance they'd still accept him. It hadn’t been confirmed yet, but Keith knew they both had assumptions that he was gay if the fact they thought he liked Lance was an indication. In fact, they’d mentioned it before too… But who knows? Maybe they’ve decided they didn’t want to be friends with someone like him.  
Bad thoughts began to swirl in his mind.

At his apparent distressed face, Hunk reached out behind Pidge at putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey, man. You good?” Keith gave him a somewhat nervous and watery smile.  
“Of course.” Hunk didn't look convinced, but squeezed his shoulder once and then moved back to his original position.

Keith cleared his throat pushing down his emotions the best he could. “So, what's this about?” The pair looked at him incredulously. 

“I think you know.” Keith did know, unfortunately. Except he'd much rather _not_ talk about his 'feelings' like some lame-ass teenage girl.

- **TW** -

“Lance?” He questioned nervously. Jesus, he really had to control his voice. His hands began to shake. Quickly Keith clasped them together in front of him as Pidge nodded her head.

Keith tried to desperately manage the outburst he could feel rising in his chest but it was so, so hard. For years he'd battled with himself about being gay and now he felt as though he was going to lose the people who finally accepted him. Something was building drip by drip.

“Yeah, we think you might like him like we said earlier.” Hunk explained calmly. Keith envied him as he felt the somewhat familiar swirls of panic swirling inside of him. He could guess what was coming next, he just had to hold it off for a little longer.

“Then with your reaction at the Altean, we thought you actually did…” The dripping was getting faster. His chest felt heavy. ‘Oh no’. He was positive now of what was coming next; he'd experienced this a few times in the past. When he'd been rejected by another family and he'd been taken back to the foster home, or when he'd lay awake thinking about how he was going to be alone for the rest of his life, how he was a mess.

Panic was building steadily. He knew this was stupid. Of course, they would accept him, they weren't the kind of people who would hate someone for being who they are. It wasn't preventing the small dark side of his mind that was trying to convince him otherwise. 

“Keith? Buddy?” The hand was back again. His breathing picked up, faster, faster, faster. His head felt light headed. The hand was gently shaking him trying to get his attention, but he just couldn't look at them. His friends. The drips became a river, they overspilt. Keith wrenched his shoulder back and raised from the swing, a sob wrenching itself from his chest. Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. He felt as though the world was getting smaller and imaginary walls were closing in on him. His hands were tingling and Keith felt sure that the ground was going to catch up to him any minute now. 

Keith's hyperventilating increased and he gasped out a few words. “I'm sorry,” the feeling he was experiencing was worse than anyone could imagine. “I'm sorry!” He repeated the words until his throat hurt. He couldn’t _breathe._

He was unaware that Pidge and Hunk were surrounding him. They'd raised themselves from the swings and gently lowered Keith onto the one he was originally sitting on. “Please, don't hate me...” Keith's head was heavy and he felt weighed down. His stomach was twisting and turning, he was certain, that any minute now, he'd throw up. He gave up on words and continued to cry. He brought his hands up to his face as he tried to muffle his sounds. 

“Hey, Keith! We'd never hate you, what are you talking about?” Hunk seemed to be talking to him the most. He was the best at comforting others. Keith wasn't aware that Pidge wasn't there anymore, she'd been sent away to get water and something small for Keith to eat later. 

“Y-yes you would,” stutters stumbled past Keith's lips in tides. “loads of people would…” It was a shock to see him like this. He usually had a stoic expression and didn't really care what others thought about him. Or, in any case, that's what everyone assumed. He just didn't express it, waited until night for every doubt and thought to swallow him. There had been no signs that anyone could see that he was feeling this way. 

“Come on, Keith. Just take deep breaths, okay?” Hunk was crouching in front of him, both hands squeezing his shoulders. “It's okay, everything's fine. I've got you.” Keith sobbed harder and desperately tried to do what Hunk had instructed. Breath in, breathe out. 

Pidge appeared again and sat close but not overwhelmingly so. Keith appreciated the space. His breathing was slightly calmer, his shakes getting worse as he tried to come down from the panic. Hunk pulled him into a hug and let the sobs and tears soak his shirt. He whispered soothing words to Keith and pulled him close. 

Once Keith had stopped crying, Hunk pulled away. “You good?” Keith nodded his head, his body still shaking from head to toe. Hunk gave him a small smile. A few hiccups still raked through Keith, but he managed to smile back, very small and barely visible, but there none the less. He had to tell them and he had to do it now. 

- **TW over** \- 

“Hunk? Pidge?” Pidge came closer and sat next to Hunk. They looked at him intently, urging him to continue. 'You can do it, Keith. Come _on_.' He spoke so quietly it was hard to hear him. He knew his voice was breaking but he couldn't care any less. He was finally going to say it. 

“I'm gay.” 

The two looked at him unfazed. “Is that what that was about?” Pidge had finally spoken up. She was answered with a small nod from Keith who quickly averted his eyes and stared at the ground. 

“Keith, we’d never hate you for that.” Hunk again. He gave Keith a smile and continued, “I'm pan.” Keith's eyes widened. “You are?” Hunk nodded in response. 

“I'm ace," Pidge shrugged, a small smile lifting her lips. Happiness lit up Keith's eyes as he looked at his friends and he beamed. He felt a strong appreciation for his friends he hadn't for a long time, or ever in fact. Shakily, he laughed, tears in his eyes again. This time, it was tears of happiness. 

“No one's been this accepting before except Shiro…” At their confused looks he continued, “He's one of my closest friends, almost like a brother.” A sad smile adorned his lips, “He's studying abroad.” 

Hunk squeezed his arm for the umpteenth time that night. “You still have us. Gay or not.” Pidge grinned at him too. This was rare compared to their normal sassy self. 

“Thank you.” 

They hadn't pushed the matter of liking Lance or not again that night, Keith was thankful for that. He wasn't sure he could've talked about it. He felt closer to the pair than he had before. He didn't know when he'd become so lucky to have such amazing friends. 

\--- 

It was Christmas in a weeks time and almost a month had passed since the incident at the park. Over that time he'd confessed to Hunk and Pidge that yes, maybe he did like Lance a little bit. 

They'd been really supportive, although Pidge did joke about it a little. Keith didn't mind though, he knew that it wasn't made to hurt him and that comforted him. He'd also spent a lot more time with Lance. Keith was sure that he liked him more than he had at the start. Maybe a bit more than simply ‘like’. He wasn't sure when he realised it. It wasn't a big freak out or anything, it was a calm understanding. Maybe the fact that he wasn't judged by his friends had made it happen that way. Maybe it was because it was Lance. He wasn't sure. 

It'd happened at Lance’s house. They'd been having the day at his house as classes were off due to the weather. Perhaps it was because Keith felt so comfortable and warm in Lance's giant hoodie he'd been given to borrow. His own was hanging over one of Lance's chairs, soaked from the rain he'd run through to get to Lance's apartment. 

It was just a passing thought through Keith's mind as he lost another round of Mario Kart. It wasn't because he was bad at the game or anything, -in fact, he'd improved drastically from the last time they'd played- it was because Keith was too busy staring at Lance to care about the game. ‘I think I'm in love with him’. 

Keith didn't panic. He didn't excuse himself and leave to wallow in self-pity in his room. He smiled. A genuinely happy smile that reached his eyes. Warmth filled his cheeks and a twisting feeling Keith had given up on pushing away bubbled in his stomach. 

It wasn't so bad to be in love, Keith had decided as he watched Lance stand up and stretch. Keith's eyes were drawn to his happy trail before the t-shirt Lance was wearing obscured the view. 

"You should stay the night again," Lance stated as he reached down for some plates, "it's still raining out, and besides, who wouldn't want to spend more time with me?" With that, Lance winked and Keith died a little. 

After Lance's insistence, Keith had been roped into staying the night again though, he really couldn't care less. 'More time with him' he'd thought as he walked downstairs to help Lance with the few dishes that had accumulated in his room since they'd began the game. 

Keith ran the taps as Lance turned the radio on. Keith watched das Lance swung his hips slightly to the music coming through the device as he pulled on his rubber gloves. 'How the fuck can he make normal tasks look so good?!' 

A song that particularly made Lance perk up began to play. He suddenly jerked his hands from the soapy water and grabbed Keith's waist, bubbles and water soaking his shirt. Slowly, Lance began to sway them back and forth. Keith laughed and put his hands on Lance's shoulders. Lance spun them around the small apartment kitchen. Keith felt a large bought of affection surge through him. Keith let a dreamy smile grow on his face as he laughed once more. He looked up into Lance's eyes and saw them twinkling with glee and laughter. Something else was there too, something soft. Keith couldn't put his finger on what it was. 

Lance broke away when the song ended and grinned "You need dancing lessons, honestly," he rolled his eyes and turned back to the dishes, Keith following suit. As they stood together, Lance bumped into Keith's hip with his own. "You should hit me up and I'll teach you how to dance as good as me." 

Keith tried to hold back a smile as he pushed Lance's face with his soapy hands. "You're such an asshole." 

The offer didn't seem that horrible, though. 

\--- 

Keith had gone through with his plans for presents to buy for Hunk and Pidge. They were wrapped and sitting next to his bed. There was still an issue, he wanted to get something for Lance. But, what? 

As he wracked his brain for any ideas as what to buy, his phone lit up. A smile spread across Keith's face as he saw Lance’s name lighting up his screen. They'd exchanged phone numbers a while back and now messaged back and forth frequently. 

**Lance: sent 01:36am**  
You up? Can you meet at the coffee shop, I can't sleep. 

**Keith: sent 01:37am**  
Be there in 10. 

Keith grabbed his jacket and made his way to the small coffee shop, hunching his shoulders from the cold winter air. When he finally saw Lance he was waving, his typical smile on his face. 

“Yo!” Keith cringed slightly at the greeting but smiled nonetheless, it was Lance after all. This was to be expected. “I was thinking about going to look at the stars, it sometimes helps make me sleepy,” he averted his gaze, and was Keith imagining it or were his cheeks pink? “You up for it?” 

Keith smiled slightly, 'of fucking course I want to see the stars with you, that's so romantic I'm going to die,' was what he wanted to say. In reality, all he said was “sure" with a small smile and a shrug of his shoulders. 

They turned and followed a narrow path into the small wooded area of the town, where Lance had promised there was a good stargazing spot. 

"You're not taking me somewhere to kill me, are you?" Keith asked jokingly. Lance turned around and grinned the smile Keith loved, his cheeks pink with the cold. "I haven't decided yet. It might put the ladies off if I'm a murderer." Keith felt the air leave his lungs and his throat tighten. Fuck this jealousy business. How could people deal with this all the time? 

As they came out of the break of trees a large patch of grass that was sometimes used for picnics came into view. Lance sat down in the middle of the grass and looked up into the darkness above him. It was a perfect night for stargazing despite the cold, and Keith felt all the negative feelings leave his thoughts. There were no clouds at all and everything seemed so bright, the moon a perfect crescent in the perfect picture of a night sky. Keith sat next to Lance and lay back onto the dewy grass below him, moisture spreading through the hoodie he'd grabbed on his way out the door as he crossed his legs on the grass. 

“I used to want to study astronomy as a kid.” Keith turned his head to see Lance with his head still tilted upwards, the light from the stars reflecting in his ocean eyes. 

“Really?” Lance nodded, his eyes not once leaving the sky above. “Yup, I loved the thought of space. I even had a plan to become an astronaut.” A small, nostalgic smile tugged at Lance’s lips. 

“Why didn't you?” Lance's eyes dropped from the sky to the grass. A small air of sadness clouded him. “We didn't have enough money for the course at the time,” Keith understood that all too well, it had taken him years before, "besides, I couldn't leave mi Madre." 

Keith sensed he should drop the topic and so turned back to the sky. He could make out some constellations; the Big and Little Dipper, Draco only a little bit away, Orion. He loved the stars too. 

A thought swam through his mind. The little jewellery shop across from his apartment. There was a small silver bracelet he'd found himself staring at many times before, a small Saturn charm dangling down. Lance’s Christmas present. He grinned. 'Perfect'. 

Keith stopped thinking as he felt Lance lay down next to him, close enough that their shoulders brushed together, pinky fingers barely touching. He was filled with such a sudden, intense feeling of adoration that it was almost staggering. If he wasn't lying down, Keith might have fallen over. 

He turned his head to look at Lance. That was a mistake. What he saw made him feel as though someone had opened his lungs and stole all the breath he had, this time in a good way. 

Lance's expression had turned from the previous sad look he had to one of complete relaxation, calmness, peace. It was mesmerizing. He was looking up at the stars again, a small smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. Keith took in the shape of his face, the curve of his neck, the way his eyes had a slight crinkle from his smile. He took in the light dusting of freckles that coated his nose and cheeks and pink lips that Keith could just lean over and kiss. 

Keith found he couldn't look away at all no matter how hard he tried. He was filled with an alarmingly strong urge to reach out and grab Lance’s hand lying next to his. He wanted to hold it and never let go. He wanted to pull him closer and kiss his lips. Keith shook his head slightly as though trying to physically clear his head. How had he managed to fall so hard in only the space of a few months? 

Damn, he was whipped. 

\--- 

It was finally Christmas Eve. 

Keith had bought the bracelet for Lance and it was in among the other gifts for his friends. Classes were now off thanks to Christmas; two days before Christmas Day, and a following two weeks afterwards. 

Keith stood out on his balcony, three floors up at his apartment. It seemed that now the streets were buzzing with Christmas cheer, late Christmas shoppers bustling around, bags hanging from their wrists, pavements coated in the first snow of the year. This was the time Keith favoured the most. The big build-up to the morning when children would tear open gifts and parents would groggily smile as they tried to stay awake. He wished he could have had that. The smile fell. 

Keith was a foster child, he wasn't ashamed to admit it or anything, it was just the way things were. This was just another year for him. It was fine. A movie and ice cream could solve anything, just like they had for the past 19 years of his life. Shaking away the thoughts before they turned nasty, Keith grabbed his coat and the silver bag next to his bed which contained his friends' presents. The small coffee shop was always open over the Christmas break, it needed the money. He figured that it was best to give them the presents to them now, just in case they took Christmas Day off. 

Keith ran down the three flights of stairs from his apartment until he reached the front door. Keith grabbed the handle and opened it. The cold air whipped around him, a shiver snaking down his spine. Outside, snow was still falling. Across the street, three children were happily rolling giant balls of snow; A snowman in the making. The sad thoughts tried to swim to the front of his mind but he pushed them back. What's done was done and he couldn't change it, besides, he had gift delivering to do. 

Keith hadn't realised how long he'd stood with the door open until the old woman on the bottom floor opened her door, her cane swinging comically in the air. “Do you want me to freeze to death, boy? Close the damn door!” Keith cringed and slowly backed out of the door. 

“S-sorry Mrs Arterberry.” He tried to ignore the mumblings of ‘you better be’ as he closed the door behind him. The walk to the coffee shop was full of Keith pushing down his emotions as he watched the Christmas cheer around him. He felt protected beneath the Christmas lights, warm despite the biting cold. He closed his eyes for a few steps enjoying the scents of Christmas, cinnamon, coffee, eggnog, food, and the crisp smell of fresh snow which crunched beneath his boots. 

He was so absorbed in his thoughts he walked into the pole outside of the coffee shop, a dull thud bouncing off the buildings around him. Keith shook off his embarrassment and, blaming his pink cheeks on the cold, Keith shook off his snowy coat and stepped into the familiar warmth of the cafe. The seats were all empty bar two tables. One of those full tables being Keith and Lance's 

A smile rose to his cheeks. For the first time, he really appreciated the decorations he never really paid much attention to. A tree in the left corner, tags all over the branches addressed to loved ones, tinsel all over the walls and counter, garland following. It was even more beautiful than usual. The seats were all empty. Except one. The exact same table Keith had constantly sat at alone, now occupied by Lance, blue-jacket-guy, his crush. He blushed again. 

He quickly ran over to the counter and presses a little gold bell they brought for the festive season. “Hunk, Pidge! Hurry up," They came around the corner and Keith smiled handing over the gift bag to them, Lance’s present clutched in his hands. “Merry Christmas Eve,” he smiled. 

Pidge opened her present first, a ‘build your own robot’ kit, working lights and remote control all included, they flung their arms over him from behind the counter, ‘Thank you!’ Being repeated in his ear like a mantra. The drone he was intending to buy had sold out so he was happy this still made her happy. "I am _so_ going to add some shit onto this!" Keith laughed as Pidge's eyes glinted. 

Hunk followed suit nearly choking Keith in a hug when he saw the new set of baking tools. “I swear I’ll make you the most badass cake ever with these spoons!” Keith grinned and hugged him back. 

He pulled back from the hug and smiled at his friends who weren’t smiling back at him, they were looking behind him. Keith turned around to see Lance staring at him, a soft smile on his face, his head resting on his hand. Noticing he’d been caught, his hand shooting away from his face as he quickly turned away his back bolt upright. Were Keith's cheeks pink again? Probably. 

He turned back to his friends with a face contemplating where to go. Hunk laughed at his expression, “Go over to him, well give you your presents when you’re done.” Keith smiled, “Thank you.” 

He walked over and sat beside Lance instead of occupying his usual seat infrint of him. He was so giddy today, it felt amazing. “Hi,” he said shyness evident. 

“Hi,” Lance said back, the smile Keith loved pulling dearly at the sides of his mouth, dimples on show. 'His present Keith, give him his present' And he did. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small drawstring bag. 

“I really wanted to get you something, but I wasn’t sure what. I don’t know if you’ll like it but…” his voice trailed away as he held his hand out. Lance searched Keith's face, his eyes skimming over him. His mouth broke into a larger smile if it was even possible. He reached out and took the bag delicately in his hands. He opened the bag slowly and pulled out the bracelet. 

His eyes widened. “Keith, Holy shit!" He nearly screamed. Lance reached forward and wrapped his arms around Keith in a hug. 

Keith’s eyes widened in surprise, he wasn’t expecting that. From Hunk or Pidge yes, but not Lance. He wasn’t complaining though, it was warm and welcoming and Keith loved it. It was what he dreamed of. Literally. He wrapped his arms around Lance's torso and basked in the feeling of Lance being so close to him as he turned his face into Lance's citrus smelling hair. His peace was ruined by someone clearing their throat. They both glanced up and looked towards Hunk and Pidge, their arms still around each other. 

“Look up, losers.” Stupid Pidge and her insults, ruining the moment. The two boys looked up anyway and what Keith saw made him blanch. Mistletoe. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. He pulled away from Lance a little bit, “Lance we don’t have to, it’s just a silly tradition y’know, we don’t have to take it seriously. Honestly. I never planned this or anything I swear I don’t know how it got there and-“ 

Lance interrupted him, “Keith, shut up.” Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Keith’s, said boys eyes widening into the size of saucers. Lance was kissing him. Kissing him. _Kissing him_. 

All his dreams were coming true today, what a fucking change for once. It didn’t take long for Keith’s arms to slide around Lance’s waist tighter, or for his eyes to flutter shut. Lance’s lips were soft, and so was his skin, and so was his hair. Everything was soft. He felt so comfortable that Keith didn’t want to ever stop kissing those pretty pink lips he’d thought of constantly over the last few months, he didn’t want to let him go. 

They slowly pulled away, all half-lidded eyes and red lips galore. Keith stared into the blue eyes in front of him and he couldn't look away. Before he could stop himself, Keith let his forbidden words fall from his lips. 

“Lance, I like you.” 

Lance’s eyebrows raised slightly, his face surprised. Suddenly he was laughing. Instantly, Keith pulled away. "Shit! I never said anything. Forget it, forget everything that happened!" Keith thought he was going to run away, dig a hole, and throw himself into it. "This was all just a dumb tradition and I took it the wrong way." His eyes were panicked and his body was tense, his expression full of underlying sadness and disappointment. 

Lance stopped laughing and grabbed his arms, a smile still evident on his face. “Keith, calm down! I like you, too, I thought it was obvious...” Keith could’ve cried in happiness. The feeling Keith had become used to; the fluttering in his stomach and rapid beating in his chest doubled tenfold. Lance liked him back. What had happened for something so great to happen to Keith? 

"Well, it fucking wasn't, you idiot." Keith didn't know whether to punch him or kiss him. 

Keith chose option two as he ignored the clicking of a camera going off in the distance and the quiet reprimanding from Hunk, too focused on Lance in front of him. He surged forward and grabbed Lance's hands as he placed a soft peck on his lips again. There were no fireworks, the ground didn't drop out from under Keith's feet, and he didn't see stars explode behind his eyelids, but he did feel a warm feeling. A feeling that sent tingles down his spine, that felt like going for a bath after a long day, like getting something you had been wanting for a long, long time, like getting your first fix of coffee for the day. 

It was like coming home on a winters day. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was fun. I hope you enjoyed this. I might continue this into a small second part set in the future but it will be ANGSTYYY. I love some good old angst. 
> 
> Also, don't take what Hunk and Pidge did with Keith when he had a panic attack literally. This was only fiction and other people may not want to be touched at all. You should always give the person space unless they say it's okay. This was wrote from an experience I had of my own, so it may be different for someone else.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


End file.
